Cold exposure elicits a thermoregulatory response in an organism. If the cold stimulus is sufficient, there is increased heat generation by shivering thermogenesis. Under prolonged action of the cold stimulus, shivering thermogenesis is replaced by non-shivering thermogenesis. Non-shivering thermogenesis in the rat takes place predominantly in brown adipose tissue (BAT), where the uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) is activated in mitochondria under the control of adrenergic signaling. The activity of UCP1 is crucial for heat production. The coactivator PGC-1α plays an important role in mitochondrial biogenesis and in the energy metabolism of BAT and heart, and its function is associated with cardioprotection. Recently, the cardioprotective effects of mild cold adaptation at 8±1 řC were discovered in our laboratory, which reduced the size of ischemia-reperfusion injury without negative side effects. However, the molecular nature of the events induced by adaptation to mild cold is unknown neither in BAT nor in the heart itself. Therefore, the aims of the thesis were 1) to characterize the development of BAT at the level of expression of selected proteins and mitochondrial markers during acute cold exposure and chronic cold adaptation with subsequent recovery and 2) to determine the role of PGC-1α and...

Skeletal muscle functions as an endocrine organ. Exosomes, small vesicles containing mRNAs, miRNAs, and proteins, are secreted from muscle cells and facilitate cell-to-cell communication. Our recent work found greater exosome release from oxidative compared to glycolytic muscle. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α) is a key driver of mitochondrial biogenesis, a characteristic of oxidative muscle. It was hypothesized that PGC1α regulates exosome biogenesis and secretion in skeletal muscle. The purpose of this study is to determine if PGC-1α regulates skeletal muscle exosome biogenesis and secretion. On day 4 of differentiation, human primary myotubes from vastus lateralis biopsies from lean donors (BMI < 25.0 kg/m2) were exposed to adenovirus encoding human PGC-1α or GFP control. On day 6 of differentiation, culture media was replaced with exosome-free media. On day 8, cells were collected for mRNA and protein analysis, and culture media was collected for exosome isolation. Overexpression of PGC-1α increases regulators of exosome biogenesis in the endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) pathway: Alix (CON: 1.0 ± 0.2 vs. PGC-1α: 7.6 ± 3.8), TSG-101 (CON: 1.0 ± 0.1 vs. PGC-1α: 7.3 ± 2.1), CD63 (CON: 1.0 ± 0.17 vs. PGC-1α: 3.7 ± 0.4), Clathrin (CON: 1.0 ± 0.2 vs. PGC-1α: 11.6 ± 2.5), and the secretion pathway: Rab27b (CON: 1.0 ± 0.3 vs. PGC-1α: 3.2 ± 0.3), STAM (CON: 1.0 ± 0.3 vs. PGC-1α: 7.3 ± 0.6), and VTA1 (CON: 1.0 ± 0.1 vs. PGC-1α: 7.3 ± 2.4). Exosome count and total extracellular vesicle count were not significantly different from control. Overexpression of PGC-1α increases gene 9 expression of regulators of exosome biogenesis and secretion in human primary myotubes. In the future, in vitro studies assessing exosomal content from PGC-1 OE cells as well as in vivo effects of PGC-1 OE on exosome production and release should be investigated to further understand the role PGC-1 plays in exosome secretion.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第18172号 / 医博第3892号 / 新制||医||1003(附属図書館) / 31030 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 篠原 隆司, 教授 中辻 憲夫, 教授 萩原 正敏, 教授 小西 郁生 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

Yoshinori Hiraoka, Tatsuhiko Matsuoka, Mikiko Ohno, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Sayaka Saijo, Shigenobu Matsumura, Kiyoto Nishi, Jiro Sakamoto, Po-Min Chen, Kazuo Inoue, Tohru Fushiki, Toru Kita, Takeshi Kimura & Eiichiro Nishi "Critical roles of nardilysin in the maintenance of body temperature homoeostasis" Nature Communications 5, Article number: 3224 doi:10.1038/ncomms4224 / 京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第18454号 / 医博第3909号 / 新制||医||1004(附属図書館) / 31332 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 渡邉 大, 教授 福田 和彦, 教授 瀬原 淳子 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

<p>Obesity is associated with an increase in low grade systemic inflammation. Skeletal muscle of individuals with obesity undergo numerous biochemical and morphological alterations including an increase in ectopic lipid accumulation in skeletal muscle and increased macrophage infiltration. Increased intermuscular adipose tissue and macrophages contribute to skeletal muscle inflammation and insulin resistance by secreting elevated proinflammatory cytokines and lipids. This also contributes to reduction in skeletal muscle quality, increasing the susceptibility of muscle to damage and impairing the regenerative response to muscle. Exercise training can reduce inflammation and improve skeletal muscle quality. Importantly reductions in inflammation occur without change in adiposity. Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor g coactivator 1-a (PGC-1a) exerts protective effects on skeletal muscle against damaging insults and may improve muscle regeneration.</p><p> The primary aim of my dissertation was to determine the mechanisms that lead to deficits in skeletal muscle integrity and regeneration in persons with obesity. In Chapter 1, an introduction to the various physiological, pathological, and clinical topics is provided. In Chapter 2, we investigated how exercise training and obesity independently alter skeletal muscle extracellular vesicle (EV) miRNA (miR) content. We found that obesity alters EV miR content indicative of altered anabolic signaling, while exercise training altered EV miR content in a manner indicative of reduced inflammation. In Chapter 3, we report that overexpression of PGC-1a reduces cardiotoxin induced damage of primary human myotubes but limits the ability of undifferentiated cells to reenter the cell cycle and produce progeny that could aid in the restoration of myotubes. In Chapter 4, we demonstrate that exposure to an obesogenic environment increases cardiotoxin induced damage of primary human myotubes from obese donors. In this study we also found that the restoration of myotube fusion index was reduced in lean and obese subjects when incubated with obesogenic media. In Chapter 5 is a review and summary of the outcomes described in Chapters 2-4, a discussion of the limitations of these experiments, and a discussion of future directions.</p>

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a heterotrimeric protein which serves as a metabolic master switch in skeletal muscle, is a research target for the pharmaceutical treatment and prevention of type 2 diabetes. The expression of all of the isoforms of the subunits of AMPK and AMPK activity are increased in skeletal muscle tissue of hyperthyroid rats. Activity of AMPK is regulated by an upstream kinase (AMPKK). The LKB1-STRAD-MO25 complex is a major AMPKK in skeletal muscle. This experiment was designed to determine whether the increase in AMPK activity is accompanied by a thyroid hormone-induced increase in the expression of the LKB1-STRAD-MO25 complex. LKB1-STRAD-MO25 complex protein expression was determined by Western blots in control rats, in rats given 3 mg of thyroxine and 1 mg of triiodothyronine per kilogram chow for 4 weeks, and in rats given 0.01% propylthiouracil (PTU) in drinking water for 4 weeks. The relative expression of LKB1, MO25, and STRAD, as well as PGC-1α, increased in the soleus of thyroid hormone treated rats vs. the controls. MO25 mRNA increased with thyroid hormone treatment, and STRAD mRNA increased with PTU treatment. Phospho-AMPK and phospho-ACC increased in response to electrical stimulation in muscles of all treatment groups, but was most markedly increased in hyperthyroid rats. Thyroid hormone treatment also increased the amount of phospho-CREB in the soleus, heart, and red quadriceps. These data provide evidence that thyroid hormone partially controls expression of the LKB1-STRAD-MO25 complex, as well the subsequent activation of AMPK.

Factors that stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle include AMPK, calcium, and circulating FFAs. Chronic treatment with either AICAR, a chemical activator of AMPK, or increasing circulating FFAs with a high fat diet increases mitochondria in rat skeletal muscle. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the combination of chronic chemical activation of AMPK and high fat feeding would have an additive effect on skeletal muscle mitochondria levels. We treated Wistar male rats with a high fat diet (HF), AICAR injections (AICAR), or a high fat diet and AICAR injections (HF+AICAR) for six weeks. At the end of the treatment period, markers of mitochondrial content were examined in white quadriceps, red quadriceps, and soleus muscles, predominantly composed of unique muscle-fiber types. In white quadriceps, there was a cumulative effect of treatments on LCAD, cytochrome c, and PGC-α protein, as well as on citrate synthase and β-HAD activity. In contrast, no additive effect was noted in the soleus and in the red quadriceps only β-HAD activity increased additively. The additive increase of mitochondrial markers observed in the white quadriceps may be explained by a combined effect of two separate mechanisms: high fat diet-induced post transcriptional increase in PGC-α protein and AMPK mediated increase in PGC-α protein via a transcriptional mechanism. These data show that chronic chemical activation of AMPK and a high fat diet have a muscle type specific additive effect on markers of fatty acid oxidation, the citric acid cycle, the electron transport chain, and transcriptional regulation.

Parkinson’s disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders worldwide, characterized by a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons mainly localized in the substantia nigra pars compacta. In recent years, the detailed analyses of both genetic and idiopathic forms of the disease have led to a better understanding of the molecular and cellular pathways involved in PD, pointing to the centrality of mitochondrial dysfunctions in the pathogenic process. Failure of mitochondrial quality control is now considered a hallmark of the disease. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 (PGC-1) family acts as a master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis. Therefore, keeping PGC-1 level in a proper range is fundamental to guarantee functional neurons. Here we review the major findings that tightly bond PD and PGC-1s, raising important points that might lead to future investigations.

<p>Introduction: Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress increase with aging and may contribute to age-associated muscle atrophy (sarcopenia). Resistance exercise (RE) can promote the accretion of muscle mass, increase strength, and ultimately improve function in the elderly. Such beneficial effects are thought to be mitigated solely by increased muscle mass and strength; however, the contribution of the mitochondria to the beneficial effects of RE in aging have not been thoroughly characterized. While mitochondrial benefits have been established separately in both young and aged adults following chronic RE, the acute effects have not been well characterized. Methods: Sedentary young and aged adult males completed either an acute bout of fatiguing RE or endurance exercise (EE), and muscle biopsies were obtained at 3, 24 and 48 h post- exercise depending on the study. Results: Despite equivalent lean-body mass, increased age was associated with elevated mtDNA deletions, indicating potential for mitochondrial dysfunction. RE was associated with reduced mitochondrial content (transcripts, protein, and mtDNA copy number) at 48 h post-exercise, a response that did not differ with increasing age. Paradoxically, reduced mitochondrial content occurred alongside elevated total peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator one α (PGC-1α) mRNA; however, RE altered only the PGC-1α4 isoform post-exercise, a transcript that regulates myostatin and insulin-like growth factor one (IGF1) signalling and ultimately muscle hypertrophy and not mitochondrial adaptations. In addition, PGC-1α modulates the unfolded protein response (UPR), and RE was subsequently shown to elevate endoplasmic reticulum stress and elicit the UPR. Conclusion: PGC-1α mRNA increases regardless of exercise mode; however, differential expression or regulation of alternate PGC-1α isoforms or transcriptional binding partners co-activated by PGC-1α may dictate the specific phenotypic adaptations that occur following divergent modes of exercise. Furthermore, RE acutely decreases mitochondrial content despite elevated PGC-1α mRNA, and this response is not influenced by age.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (Medical Science)

The chicken is a classic model organism that has provided key insights into embryonic development. Chicken embryos can be directly manipulated and observed during development while retaining the potential to reach adulthood. Despite this benefit, the utility of the chicken in studying development has been limited by the difficulty of introducing genetic changes to the genome. The recent development of cell culture conditions for chicken primordial germ cells (cPGC) has made it feasible to produce transgenic chickens, but there is still a lack of tools for introducing genetic modifications into cPGCs. Recombinase Mediated Cassette Exchange (RMCE) is a technique that has been utilized in traditional genetic systems to generate multiple alleles at a given locus but has not yet been adapted to the chicken. In order to use RMCE in the chicken, we inserted Lox sites into cPGC using CRISPR/Cas9. We targeted the ovalbumin locus and potential genomic safe harbor sites (GSH) identified using genomic data. We performed RMCE to exchange green fluorescent protein (GFP) into these loci. We observed RMCE efficiency as less than 1% at each loci. We then designed a system using a drug inducible Caspase 9 (iCasp9) to select for cells that underwent cassette exchange. This method enabled us to obtain a population of 100% edited cells. We anticipate that this tool will increase the utility of the chicken as a model organism, livestock, and bioreactor.